The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus Review

Launched alongside the radically new iPhone X, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus bring a fresh design language, headlined by a body with a metal frame and a glass back. The duo of phones also comes with new and improved hardware, which includes a more powerful chip and graphics, better display, vastly improved camera, and wireless charging.

Familiar, Yet So Different

It's pretty remarkable how much the glass back has changed the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus compared to those of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. It's the only design element that separates the two product families, yet it makes quite a lot of difference, making the newcomers command more attention compared to their more subtle, all-metal predecessors.

There are three colors to choose from — silver, gold, and space gray. Because of the glass back, the new colors look substantially different from their past iterations despite the familiar name.

The build quality of both phones is excellent as expected. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus feature ultra-tough glass developed especially for them, an aerospace-grade aluminum frame, and internal stainless steel elements. They're also water- and dust-resistant.

Specs You Should Know About

The most important hardware bit about the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus is the A11 Bionic chip. Developed in-house by Apple, it features a six-core architecture, as well as a new performance controller. It's faster and more energy efficient than its predecessor.

An all-new graphics chip developed by Apple is up to 30% faster than the previous model. It allows the phones to deliver gaming and augmented reality experiences with exceptional quality.

The 4.7-inch and the 5.5-inch Retina HD displays of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus have the same size and resolution as those of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. However, thanks to improved LCD panels, they're capable of delivering even more vibrant colors.

True Tone is another cool display feature that's a novelty in the iPhone family. It utilizes the devices' ambient light sensor to adjust the color temperature of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus screen as lighting conditions change. Already available in the iPad Pro, it reduces eye strain, and allows you to enjoy accurate colors at all times.

Both new iPhones pack a brand-new 12 MP camera with a larger sensor, f/1.8 aperture, improved image processing, quad-LED, and optical image stabilization. It can capture 4K video at a class-leading 60 frames per second.

The iPhone 8 Plus has a second 12 MP camera with a f/2.8 telephoto lens. The front-facing camera has a 7 MP sensor.

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus also feature wireless charging. A first for an iPhone, the feature utilizes the Qi industry standard, so there are many wireless chargers to choose from.

In 2018, Apple will introduce its own wireless charger, dubbed Airpower Mat. It'll allow you to charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods (via an optional case) all at the same time.

This year, you can choose your iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus with 64 GB or 256 GB of storage. Apple deserves a hat tip for doubling the memory of the entry-level model, making it sufficiently plentiful for many users.

Louder stereo speakers with deeper bass, Bluetooth 5.0, and a Touch ID fingerprint sensor round up the key features of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Apple promises that the phones will have similar battery life as the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus — hardly a surprise considering they share the same size and form factor.

The new iPhones don't have an audio jack. Once again, you'll get a pair of Lighting EarPods and an adapter for connecting your older headphones in the retail box.

iOS 11

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus run iOS 11. The latest iteration of Apple's mobile platform brings a number of new features and improvements, including a customizable Control Center, a redesigned App Store, vastly better Siri, and better Photos, among many others.

ARKit is handily the most noteworthy iOS 11 feature you need to know about. The augmented reality framework will enable app developers to create high-quality apps and games that'll change the way you interact with your iPhone.

Of course, iOS 11 also comes with the best selection of apps in the business, as well as an unrivaled set of privacy and security features.

Industry-Crushing Performance

The new iPhones are the most powerful smartphones you can buy. Thanks to the Apple A11 Bionic chip, the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus can perform any task faster, and they can play harder than any other smartphone out there.

Augmented reality apps and games showcase the power chops of the new chip best. Their fluidity and graphics quality are bound to redefine your expectations about what a smartphone should be able to do.

The battery life of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus is similar to their predecessors'. You can expect a day of use from the smaller model, and well beyond that from the Plus model. In this instance, the bigger model has a noticeable advantage over the iPhone 8.

Fantastic Camera(s)

The iPhone camera has always been an industry benchmark, and this year is no exception. The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus can consistently and rapidly capture photos with amazing quality every time. Low-light shots in particular have benefited a great deal from the larger camera sensor.

Things get even more interesting with the secondary camera of the iPhone 8 Plus. In addition to the excellent Portrait Mode we already know from the iPhone 7 Plus, it adds Portrait Lighting.

By taking advantage of the phone's powerful chip, the above camera mode allows you to experiment with various lighting effects in real time and capture pretty remarkable portraits, even though it's still in beta form.

Being able to capture high-quality 4K video at 60 fps is another attention-grabbing feat made possible by the powerful chip of iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. The same goes for the ability to shoot slow-motion footage at 240 fps (up from 120 fps in iPhone 7).

Wrap Up

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus offer an excellent blend of class-leading power, a superb camera, and the most advanced mobile platform in the business. The new — if slightly conservative — redesign and the addition of wireless charging add further appeal to an already superb smartphone package.

Apple's seamless implementation of augmented reality will change how people use their iPhones going forward. With the new framework being so impressive in such an early stage, we can only imagine the ARKit apps and games that'll arrive in the future.

It's worth noting that the extra camera sensor of the iPhone 8 Plus makes quite a bit of difference. The big iPhone's battery life is also noticeably better. When it comes to delivering power and refinement in a compact package, the iPhone 8 sits in a league of its own.

Every new iPhone also comes with the best selection of accessories of any smartphone. From cases and screen protectors to Lighting cables, you'll have an overwhelming selection of original and third-party options to choose from.

When it comes to upgrading, if you're a user of an iPhone earlier than 7 and 7 Plus, jumping to an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus will be a massive upgrade in performance and hardware features. Owners of an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus who are itching to upgrade should consider the iPhone X and its bezel-free OLED display instead. If you're planning to switch from an Android to an iPhone, now is as great a time as any to do so.

And then there's the pricier iPhone X that's coming out in a little over a month. It'll offer showstopping new design, stunning display, an even more premium finish thanks to a stainless steel frame, the same performance, and an all-new user interface that omits the home button.

Pricing of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus starts at $699 and $799 respectively for a 64GB variant. Quadrupling the storage to 256 GB will cost you $150 more for each model.

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